A Call To Poets.

On March 3rd marked the anniversary of the day of the Cuban Poet. This commemoration was created at the initiative of Dr. Delia Cabrera Torres to coincide with the birthday of Boniface Byrne. To celebrate the occasion, The Lincoln-Marti schools and Libre Newspapers have organized a poetry contest with the following guidelines:

1. ANYONE IS FREE TO PARTICIPATE AS LONG AS THEY SUBMIT AN UNPUBLISHED WORK WRITTEN IN SPANISH. ENTRIES WILL NOT BE LIMITED BY RACE, NATIONALITY, RELIGION, OR ANY OTHER LIMITATION OR DISTINCTION. PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORKS CANNOT BE ACCEPTED, NOR CAN WORK SUBMITTED TO ANOTHER CONTEST BE INCLUDED HERE. ONLY UNPUBLISHED WORKS WRITTEN IN SPANISH ARE ELIGIBLE.

2. THREE TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE-SPACED COPIES OF THE POEM MUST BE SUBMITTED. THE WORK CANNOT EXCEED ONE SIDE OF A LETTER-SIZED SHEET OF PAPER. HANDWRITTEN ENTRIES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

3. THE THREE COPIES OF THE POEM WILL BE IDENTIFIED ONLY BY THE TITLE OF THE WORK OR A PSEUDONYM OF THE AUTHOR. ANY IDENTIFICATION OF THE AUTHOR¹S NAME OR INFORMATION ON THE WORK IS PROHIBITED. THE AUTHOR¹S NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE NUMBER, AND THE TITLE OR PSEUDONYM USED TO IDENTIFY THE WORK MUST BE ENCLOSED IN A SEPARATE, SEALED ENVELOPE THAT IS IDENTIFIED ON THE OUTSIDE ONLY BY THE TITLE OR PSEUDONYM OF THE ENTRY. EACH ENVELOPE WILL BE IDENTIFIED BY ONE TITLE OR PSEUDONYM AND WILL CONTAIN ONE ENTRY.

4. THE AUTHOR MAY SUBMIT AS MANY ENTRIES AS HE OR SHE DESIRES, BUT EACH ENTRY MUST BE UNIQUELY IDENTIFIED.

5. THE ENVELOPE CONTAINING THE POEM MUST CONTAIN A SEALED ENVELOPE WITH THE INFORMATION THAT IS REFERRED TO IN #3. THE ENTRY SHOULD BE SENT BY MAIL, PREFERABLY CERTIFIED MAIL TO ALLOW THE ENTRANT TO CONSERVE A RECORD OF THE SUBMISSION. ENTRIES MUST BE SENT TO: CONCURSO DE POESÍAS LINCOLN-MARTI 2003, 904 SW 23 AVE., MIAMI, FLORIDA 33135. ENTRIES CANNOT BE PERSONALLY DELIVERED NOR MAY THEY BE SENT VIA E-MAIL.

6. ONLY THOSE ENTRIES THAT ARE RECEIVED BY MAIL AS OF PAN AMERICAN DAY, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2003 WILL BE ACCEPTED.

7. THE WINNER OF THE FIRST PRIZE WILL RECEIVE $1,000.00 AND A PLAQUE. THE SECOND PRIZE WILL BE $500.00 AND A PLAQUE. THE THIRD PRIZE WINNER WILL BE AWARDED $250.00 AND A PLAQUE. ALL OF THE ELIGIBLE CONTESTANTS WILL RECEIVE A COMMEMORATIVE CERTIFICATE.

8. THE JUDGES OF THE CONTEST WILL BE THREE PERSONS OF NOTED CULTURAL INVOLVEMENT, DESIGNATED BY THE SPONSORS. NEITHER THE SPONSORS NOR THE JUDGES WILL CORRESPOND WITH THE PARTICIPANTS. SUBMITTING AN ENTRY TO THE CONTEST INDICATES AN ACCEPTANCE OF THESE RULES. ANY MATTER NOT ADDRESSED BY THESE RULES IS LEFT TO THE INTERPRETATION OF THE SPONSORS AND SUCH SHALL BE EXCLUSIVELY RESOLVED BY THEM.

9. THE DECISION OF THE JUDGES MAY NOT BE APPEALED. THE SUBMISSIONS SHALL BECOME THE PROPERTY OF THE SPONSORS, WHO ARE AT LIBERTY TO REPRODUCE THE WORKS. THE PRIZES, OR ANY ONE OF THEM, MAY BE DECLARED VACANT OR MAY BE DIVIDED, AT THE DISCRETION OF THE JUDGES.

10. THE NAMES OF THE WINNERS WILL BE MADE PUBLIC IN MAY, 2003.